At the end of his speech on becoming Prime Minister, Gordon Brown said
On this day I remember words that have stayed with me since my childhood and which matter a great deal to me today. My school motto: I will try my outmost. This is my promise to all of the people of Britain. And now let the work of change begin.
I have been collecting old mottoes for some time; eventually I may put them into book form. Here are a few old mottoes.
A good maxim is never out of season
A bitter jest is the poison of friendship.
A truly great man borrows no lustre from splendid ancestry.
Among the base, merit begets envy; among the noble, emulation.
Affected simplicity is refined imposture.
A desire for admiration is the offspring of vanity.
A few books well chosen are of more use than a great library.
A knowledge of our duties is the most useful part of knowledge.
A chaste eye exiles licentious looks.
A careful watch invites a vigilant foe.
Abundance is a trouble, but competency brings delight.
Avarice generally miscalculates, and as generally deceives.
A wounded reputation is seldom cured.
A knave discovered is the greatest fool.
A man had better be poisoned in his blood than in his principles.
A virtuous mind in a fair body is like a fine picture in a good light.
An idle brain is the devil's workshop.
Anger and haste hinder good counsel.
Acquire honesty; seek humility; practise economy; love fidelity.
Against fortune, oppose courage; against passion, reason.
Affected superiority mars good-fellowship.
A wager is a fool's argument.
Affairs must suffer when recreation is preferred to business.
A man that outlives his reputation soon becomes miserable.
A bad workman quarrels with his tools.
A rolling stone gathers no moss.
Affectation in dress implies a flaw in the understanding.
An affectation of wisdom often prevents our becoming wise.
A false-grounded hope is but a waking man's dream.
A good paymaster is Lord of another man's purse.
A penny saved is twice earned.
At a great bargain pause awhile.
A young man idle, an old man needy.
A friend is never known till needed.
A good word for a bad one, is worth much and costs little.
A passionate man rides a horse that runs away with him.
A gift long waited for is sold not given.
A good servant makes a good master.
A man without modesty is lost to all sense of honour and virtue.
Avoid all low company - in parts, in manners, and in merit.
A blithe heart makes a blooming visage.
Add not trouble to the grief-worn heart.
Anger begins with folly, and ends with repentance.
Application in youth makes old age comfortable.
Ask the purse what thou should buy.
As you salute, you will be saluted.
An evil heart can make any doctrine heretical.
A gentle disposition is like an unruffled stream.
A libertine's life is not a life of liberty.
A great fortune is a great slavery.
An evil conscience is a most unquiet companion.
A smart reproof is better than smooth deceit.
Affectation is at best a deformity.
A soft answer turneth away wrath.
A fault is made worse by endeavouring to conceal it.
Attempt not too hastily, nor pursue too eagerly.
Applause and preference are things of barter.
Avoid that which you blame in others.
Actions measured by time seldom prove better by repentance.
Advise not what is most pleasant, but what is most useful.
A good tale, ill told, is a bad one.
A fop is the tailor's friend and his own foe.
Apprehension of evil is oftentimes worse than the evil itself.
A jest is no argument, and loud laughter no demonstration.
All is but lip-wisdom that wants experience.
A fool's heart is ever dancing on his lips.
As a bird is known by his note, so is a man by his discourse.
All complain of want of memory, but none of want of judgment.
Affectation is part of the trappings of folly.
A vain hope flattereth the heart of a fool.
A man's own manners commonly frame his fortune.
An angry man opens his mouth and shuts his eyes.
A poor freedom is better than a rich slavery.
A little neglect may breed great mischief.
Appoint a time for every thing, and do every thing in its time.
Application and industry are the best preservatives of innocence.
Admiration accompanies respect; hatred, fear.
A tale out of season, is as music in mourning.
Art and science have no enemies but those who are ignorant.
Arrogance is a weed that grows mostly on a dunghill.
Avoid a slanderer as you would a scorp.
A moment of time is a moment of mercy.
As in life, so in study, it is dangerous to do more things than one at a time.
A wise man endeavours to shine in himself; a fool, to outshine others.
And some old proverbs
A man may buy gold too dear.
He that will not look before him, will have to look behind him.
Poverty makes a man acquainted with strange bed-fellows.
A wild goose never laid a tame egg.
A needy man's budget is full of schemes.
The wise man knows he knows nothing; the fool thinks he knows all.
To him that wills, the way is seldom wanting.
The friar preached against stealing wen he had a pudding in his sleeve.
A hasty man never wants woe.
Eagles fly alone, but sheep flock together.
Of a bad paymaster get what you can, though it be but a straw.
A horse is neither better nor worse for his trappings.
Lazy folk take the most pains.
Short reckonings make long friends.
Better come at the latter end of a feast than at the beginning of a fray.
Every fool can find faults that a great many wise men can't mend.
The proof of the pudding is in the eating.
Trust not the praise of a friend, nor the contempt of any enemy.
When the curate licks the knife, it must be bad for the clerk.
Little and often fills the purse.
Fair and softly goes far in a day.
Sharp stomachs make short graces.
One man may steal a horse, when another must not look over the hedge.
Patch by patch is good husbandry, but patch upon patch is plain beggary.
Quick at meat, quick at work.
A reconciled friend is a double enemy.
The more you court a mean man, the statelier he grows.
Daub yourself with honey, and you will have plenty of flies.
That is gold which is worth gold.
Rome was not built in a day.
When the wolf goes to steal, he goes a distance from home.
He who has to deal with a blockhead, has need of much brains.
An open door will tempt a saint.
All are not saints who go to church.
If the mountain will not go to Mahomet, Mahomet must go to the mountain.
He who rides behind another, does not saddle when he pleases.
A cracked bell is never sound.
The dinner over, away go the guests.
If you would know a bad husband, look at his wife's countenance.
Jest with an ass, and he will flap you in the face with his tail.
Say well is good, but do well is better.
Every cook praises his own stew.
The pitcher that often goes to the well comes home broken at last.
A house filled up wit guests is eaten up and ill spoken of.
Gossiping and lying go hand-in-hand.
The master's eye makes the horse fat.
Buy what you do not want, and you will sell what you cannot spare.
The mouse does not leave the cat's house with a full belly.
The mad dog bites his master.
The lean dog is all fleas.
A man-servant and a friend should be neither poor nor rich.
He who remains in the mill grinds, not he who goes and comes.
A man forewarned is forearmed.
The horseshoes that clatters wants a nail.
Good at a distance is better than evil near at hand.
A turn of the key is better than the conscience of a friar.
Let not your tongue cut your throat.
Lean liberty is better than fat slavery.
When the pirate promises masses and wax, the vessel is in a bad flight.
When a river does not make a noise, it is either empty or very full.
The longest day must have an end.
Wit once bought is worth twice taught.
When you meet with a madman, feign yourself a fool.
When one wolf eats another, there is nothing to eat in the wood.
Old birds are not to be caught with chaff.
None are so deaf as they that will not hear.
He who has lost oxen, is always listening to the bells.
He who goes the wrong road, must go the journey twice over.
Do on the hill as you would in the hall.
Be not a baker if your head be of butter.
The way to Babylon will never bring you to Jerusalem.
He that stays in the valley will never get over the hill.
A clean glove often hides a dirty hand.
A fool always comes short of his reckoning.
To read and not to understand, is to pursue and not to take.
An ass covered with gold is more respected than a horse with a packsaddle.
Many hands make light work.
He that is warm thinks all are so.
The wise man knows the fool, but the fool knows not the wise man.
Worth has been underrated ever since wealth was overvalued.
More words than one go to a bargain.
Make not thy tail broader than thy wings.
He who eats of the King's goose will void a feather forty years after.
He who has one foot in a brothel, has the other in the hospital.
Where drums beat, laws are silent.
A nod from a Lord is a breakfast for a fool.
To take ambition from a soldier, is to rob him of his spurs.
When an ass is among monkeys, they all make faces at him.
All truths must not be told at all times.
A mischievous cur must be tied short.
A wonder lasts but nine days, and then the puppy's eyes are open.
Most things have two handles; and a wise man takes hold of the best.
A good life keeps off wrinkles.
A bad style is better than a lewd story.
The worth of a thing is best known by the want of it.
The devil goes away when he finds the door shut against him.
When the cat is away the mice will play.
What is done in the night appears in the day.
A fool may chance to put something in a wise man's head.
A little time may be enough to hatch a great deal of mischief.
The shortest answer is doing the thing.
The least boy always carries the great fiddle.
When poverty comes in at the door, love flies out of the window.
Spend not where you may save; spare not where you must spend.
A little wit will serve a fortunate man.
A handsome hostess is bad for the purse.
Accusing is proving, where malice and power sit judges.
A soldier, fire and water, soon make room for themselves.
A little pot is soon hot.
As the bell is, so is the clapper.
He that seeks trouble it were a pity he should miss it.
He that licks honey from thorns pays too dear for it.
Almost and very nigh save many a lie.
He must needs run whom the devil drives.
He that makes himself a sheep shall be eaten by the wolves.
A man loses his time that comes early to a bad bargain.
Weigh right, if you sell dear.
When the wine is in, the wit is out.
There are more Lords in the world than brilliant wits.
The poor do penance for the follies of their superiors.
A full purse never lacks friends.
An empty belly has no ears.
The stone that lies not in your way need not offend you.
The best throw upon the dice is to throw them away.
A pin a day is a groat a year.
A stitch in times saves none.
The rat that has but one hole is soon caught.
Far fetched, and dear bought, is a bargain for the ladies.
A rich mouthful, a heavy groan.
Diet cures more than the doctor.
He who will stop every man's mouth, must have a great deal of meal.
He that hath no solver in his purse, should have solver on his tongue.
Use soft words and hard arguments.
Cut your coat according to your cloth.
Serve a great man, and you will know what sorrow is.
If you trust before you die, you may repent before you die.
Of two evils choose the least.
A small spark makes a great fire.
Corn is cleansed by wind; and vicious habits by chastisement.
Breed up a crow, and he will pluck out your eyes.
All are not thieves that dogs bark at.
A drowning man will catch at a straw.
You may believe every good report of a grateful man.
Beware of a bad woman, and be careful how you trust a good one.
He gives twice that gives in a trice.
Human blood is all one colour.
Tell me what company you keep, and I will tell you what you are.
Two sparrows upon one ear of corn are not likely to agree long.
Three removes are as bad as a fire.
The last drop makes the cup run over.
The ass that is not used to the packsaddle, bites his crupper.
Good news is only rumoured, but bad news flies.
Fire is not to be quenched with tow.
'Tis the second blow makes the fray.
When the sea is crossed, the saint is generally forgotten.
Though the wolf may lose his teeth, he never loses his inclinations.
Every crow thinks her own bird the fairest.
The weakest must go to the wall.
The eye of the master does more work than both his hands.
The enemy of the bride never speaks well of the wedding.
The devil lies down in the miser's chest.
Into a shut mouth flies do not enter.
He whose windows are of glass should never throw stones.
The going out of the tavern is the best part of the journey.
Where there is a will, there is a way.
Where much smoke is, there must be some fire.
A man knows his companion in a long journey and a small inn.
In a country of blind people, the one-eyed man is a King.
Where drink enters, wisdom departs.
Where the Kings is, there is the court.
Between two brothers, have two witnesses and a notary.
There's nothing agrees worse than a proud mind and a beggar's purse.
An open countenance, but close thoughts.
An oak is not felled with one blow.
They are scarce of horseflesh where two and two ride on a dog.
A man is a man, though he have but a hose upon his head.
When flatterers meet, Satan goes to dinner.
Wrinkled purses make wrinkled faces.
Before you make a friend, eat a peck of salt with him.
Better ride on an ass that carries me, than a horse that throws me.
A bad wound heals; a bad name kills.
Two ill meals make the third a glutton.
When a proud man hears another praised, he thinks himself injured.
The cow knows not the value of her tail till she has lost it.
The rotten apple injures its companion.
Stars are not seen by sunshine.
An envious man waxes lean with the fatness of his neighbour.
The hypocrite pays tribute to God, that he may impose on men.
One an use, and ever a custom.
Two of a trade seldom agree.
Before you marry, be sure of a house wherein to tarry.
Every man can tame a shrew but he that hath her.
Hungry men call the cook lazy.
Enough is as good as a feast.
That is not always good in the maw that is sweet in the mouth.
Better lose a supper than gain a hundred physicians.
Bare walls make gadding housewives.
Who is bad to his own is bad to himself.
When rogues fall out, honest men come by their own.
The greatest clerks are not always the wisest men.
As you sow, so shall you leap.
Quick believers need broad shoulders.
That which will not make a pot, may make a pot-lid.
The biggest horses are not always the best travellers.
Provide for the worst, the best will save itself.
Praise without profit puts little into the pocket.
Bachelors' wives and maids' children are always well taught.
A nice wife and a back door often make a rich man poor.
A small leak will sink a great ship.
Better have one plough going than two cradles.
An empty purse and a new house make a wise man too late.
A threadbare coat is armour proof against an highwayman.
The mob has many heads, but no brains.
The King's cheese goes half away in parings.
The pen of the tongue should be dipped in the ink of the heart.
The poet, of all the artificers, is the fondest of his work.
Truth hath always a fast button.
The offender never pardons.
The greatest learning is to be seen in the greatest plainness.
The hermit thinks the suns shines nowhere but in his own cell.
Thinking is very far from knowledge.
When sorrow is asleep, awake it not.
Where the carcass is, there the ravens will collect together.
Beware of enemies reconciled, and meat twice boiled.
Kindness will creep when it cannot run.
Kindnesses, like rain, increase by sowing.
If you keep your tongue a prisoner, your body may go free.
Choler is a good common soldier, but a bad commander.
Lucky men need little counsel.
Little boats must keep near shore.
Love thy neighbour, but pull not down thy edge.
Labouring to please a fool is a servile employment.
Never quit certainty for hope.
Make hay while the sun shines.
Nothing can be well done, that is done out of season.
Nothing is more intolerable than proud ignorance.
Nature sets every thing to sale for labour.
Neither gives to all, nor contend with fools.
Not to oversee workmen, is to leave them with your purse open.
No man is wise at all times, nor knowing in all thins.
Nature seldom changes with the climate.
Overdoing is doing nothing to the purpose.
One true philosopher is worth a thousand linguists.
He who would catch fish, must not mind getting wet.
One is not so soon healed as hurt.
One story is good until another is told.
An ass in a lion's skin may be discerned without spectacles.
Plough or not plough, you must pay your rent.
A burden which one chuses is not felt.
A good word is as soon said as an ill one.
A wise man may look like a fool in a fool's company.
Advice is thrown away where the case admits of no counsel.
A poor man's debt makes a great noise.
A fat kitchen makes a lean will.
A goose's quill is more dangerous than a lion's claw.
A thousand probabilities will not make one truth.
By other's faults wise men correct their own.
Every good scholar is not a good schoolmaster.
Though a good life may not silence calumny, it will disarm it.
Absence cools moderate passions, and inflames violent ones.
Flattery is nauseous to the wise.
Faint praise is disparagement.
Fortune knocks at least once at every man's door.
few take care to live well, but many to live long.
Fine feathers make fine birds.
Great sins require great repentance.
He who does not honour his wife dishonours himself.
He who fears death has already lost the life he covets.
God helps those who help themselves.
Humble wedlock is better than proud virginity.
He can never speak well who can never hold his tongue.
He that makes others fear him, has reason to fear them.
He who promiseth runs in debt
Hope is a good breakfast, but a bad supper.
He who rises late, never does a good day's work.
He is miserable that knows not how to spend his time.
Home is home, though it be ever so homely.
He that goes a borrowing, goes a sorrowing.
He who depends on another, dines ill and sups worse.
He that shows his passion tells his enemy where to hit him.
He that would thrive, must rise at five.
He that has thriven, may lie till seven.
He who squints abroad, does not look straight at home.
He who runs after a shadow has a wearisome race.
He that understands amiss, concludes worse.
He who is independent cannot be greater.
He that by the plough would thrive, himself must either hold or drive.
He that gives to a grateful man puts his money out at compound interest.
Ill-will never spoke well.
Ill weeds grow apace.
It is hard to live in Rome and strive against the Pope.
If pride were an art, the world would be full of teachers.
Kind speeches comfort the heavy-hearted.
Knowledge is the treasure of the mind.
Judge not of a ship as she lies on the stocks.
It is always term-time in the court of conscience.
No man can serve two masters.
A rogue's throat smells of hemp.
None are so deaf as those that will not hear.
A person wit his clothes torn never wants a companion in rags.
It is not the cowl that makes the monk.
As the crow is, the egg will be.
A pot that belongs to many, is ill stirred and worse boiled.
Pay what you owe, and you will know what you are worth.
It is a long lane that has no turning.
It is an ill cause that none dare speak in.
Kill the lion's whelp: thou'lt strive in vain wen he's grown.
Lawyers' gowns are lined with the wilfulness of their clients.
Let every man praise the bridge he goes over.
Leave a jest when it pleases you best.
Many soldiers are brave at table, who are cowards in the field.
Now I have got a ewe and a lamb, every one cries - welcome, Peter!
Lookers-on see more than players.
Losers are always in the wrong.
One fool in a house is enough in all conscience.
One beats the bush, and another catcheth the bird.
Much would have more, and lost all.
No alchymy is equal to saving.
One foolish act may undo a man, and a timely one make his fortune.
Take heed of an ox before, an ass behind, and a monk on all sides.
No receiver, no thief; no penny, no pater-noster.
No pot is so ugly as not to find a cover.
Reynard is still Reynard, though he put on a surplice.
The first chapter of fools, is to esteem themselves wise.
There is no smoke without some fire.
One scabbed sheep infects the flock.
Few envy the merit of others that have any of their own.
Have not thy cloak to make when it begins to rain.
Short pleasure, long lament.
There is no medicine against death.
Discreet wives have sometimes neither eyes not ears.
Do in the hole as thou wouldst do in the hall.
A jealous head is soon broken.
A fool's bolt is soon shot.
A great man will neither trample on a worm, nor sneak to a King.
A covetous man is a dog in a wheel, that roasteth meat for others.
A quiet conscience sleeps in thunder.
A lie has no legs, but scandal has wings.
A man may love his house, and yet not ride on the ridge.
A proud look makes foul work in the finest face.
An obedient wife commands her husband.
An intemperate patient makes a cruel doctor.
All that is said in the parlour, should not be heard in the hall.
Atheists go one point beyond devils; for they believe and tremble.
He that blows in the dust, fills his own eyes.
Gossipping and lying go hand-in-hand.
He that scoffs at the crooked, had need go very upright himself.
He is an ill boy that goes like a top, no longer than 'tis whipped.
He who greases his wheels, helps his oxen.
Ill-will never speaks well, nor doth well.
If nobody takes notice of our faults, we easily forget them ourselves.
He that is slothful in his work, is brother to him that is a great waster.
Never wade in unknown waters.
Our own opinion is never wrong.
Never marry without love, nor love without reason.
Search others for their virtues, thyself for their vices.
He that always complains is never pitied.
He that has no shame, has no conscience.
Spare when you are young, and spend when you are old.
The great art of life is to play for much and stake little.
A good layer-up is a good layer-out.
He lacks most that longs most.
The clock of the tongue should be set by the dial of the heart.
Half-witted people have a talent of talking much and saying little.
Eaten bread is soon forgotten.
Error is always in haste.
Bring your line to the wall, not the wall to your line.
Care will kill a cat, yet there is no living without it.
Better do it, than wish it done.
Borrowed garments never fit well.
A man that hath no virtue in himself, envieth it in others.
A man's strongest passion is generally on his weakest side.
A willing mind makes a light foot.
Angry men seldom want woe.
A joke never gains over an enemy, but often loses a friend.
A hog that is remired, is never easy till he has remired others.
Adversity flattereth no man.
A clear conscience is a sure card.
A liar is a hector towards God, and a coward towards men.
A wise man begins in the end; a fool ends in the beginning.
Forbid a fool a thing, and that he'll do.
He dances well to whom fortune pipes.
Gentility, sent to the market, will not buy a peck of meal.
He that peeps through a hole may see what will vex him.
Buy at market, sell at home.
Beware of a silent dog and still water.
Every potter praises his own pot, and more if it be broken.
Every one bastes the fat hog, while the lean one burns.
A wilful man should be very wise.
A word before is worth two behind.
A word and a stone, thrown away, do not return.
"Every one to his trade," quoth the boy to the bishop.
Simple diet, healthy children.
A fault once denied is twice committed.
A mad bull is not to be tied up with a packthread.
Blow the wind never so fast, it will lower at last.
Church work goes on slowly.
The positive man is always wrong.
Benefits grow old betimes, but injuries are long livers.
Affairs, like salt-fish, ought to be a good while a soaking.
Obscene words must have a deaf ear.
Pen and ink are wit's plough.
Who follow not virtue in youth, cannot fly sin in old age.
The best horse needs breaking, and the aptest child needs teaching.
Some go to law for the waging of a straw.
Many are better known than trusted.
At weddings and funerals, friends are discerned from kinsfolk.
Your looking-glass will tell you what none of your friends will.
Hunger cannot bear contradiction.
He that wants health wants every thing.
He that pries into the clouds may be struck with a thunderbolt.
Education begins a man, and conversation finishes him.
Cheer up, God is where he was.
A wise man is a great wonder.
A liar is a bravo towards God, and a coward towards men.
You need not get a golden pen to write upon dirt.
Who loses his due gets no thanks.
The eyes serve for ears to the deaf.
The remedy of to-morrow is too late for the evil of to-day.
The tears of the congregation are the praises of the minister.
Tread on a worm and it will turn.
Venture not all in one bottom.
To promise, and give nothing, is comfort for a fool.
To lather an ass's head is only wasting soap.
Bread at pleasure, drink by measure.
Bitter pills may have blessed effects.
We never know the worth of water till the well is dry.
What the better is the house for the sluggard rising early.
Never make a mountain out of a molehill.
'Tis a folly to fret when grief's no comfort.
To believe a business impossible, is the way to make it so.
That man is cheaply bought who costs but a situation.
When gold speaks, all tongues are silent.
True valour is fire; bullying is smoke.
A thousand pounds and a bottle of hay are all one at doomsday.
If you trust before you try, you may repent before you die.
Keep the feast till the feast-day.
It is hard to wive and thrive both in a year.
The higher the plum-tree, the riper the plum.
The richer the cobbler, the blacker his thumb.
Words may pass, but blows fall heavy.
Never carry two faces under one hood.
The head and feet keep warm, and the rest will take no harm.
He who hath good health is young, and he is rich who owes nothing.
He is poor indeed that can promise nothing.
If you cannot bite, never show your teeth.
Give a new servant bread and eggs, but after a year bread and a cudgel.
If all fools wore white caps, we should look like a flock of geese.
Gold goes in at any gate except heaven's.
God tempers the wind to the shorn lamb.
He that has one sheep in the flock will like all the rest the better for it.
Better be the head of the yeomanry than the tail of the gentry.
Every may be has a may not be.
Force without forecast is little worth.
He that licks honey from thorns pay too dear for it.
He was short of news that told his father was hanged.
After-wit is every body's wit.
Though the cat winks she is not blind.
He who commences many things, finishes only a few.
A friar who asks for alms for God's sake, begs for two.
A light purse is a heavy curse.
Who dainties love shall beggars prove.
Some spare at the pigot and let out at the bunghole.
Pay what you owe, and what you are worth you'll know.
In giving and taking it is easy mistaking.
Less of your courtesy, and more of your coin.
One swallow makes not a spring, nor one woodcock a winter.
The hog never looks up to him that threshes down the acorns.
The mouse that has but one hole is easily taken.
The worst pig often gets the best pear.
He keeps his road well enough who gets rid of bad company.
Compliments cost nothing, yet many people pay dearly for them.
Small rain will lay a great dust.
Success makes a fool look wise.
The dog wags his tail, not for you, but for the bread.
An old goat is never the more reverend for his beard.
Make the best of a bad bargain.
There's many a slip between the cup and the lip.
It is hard to live in Rome and strive against the Pope.
When wise men play the fool, they do it with a vengeance.
No man cries stinking fish.
Frost and fraud both end in foul.
It is good going on foot when a man has a horse in his hand.
It is not the burden, but the over-burden, that kills the beast.
Never buy a pig in a poke.
The sweetest wine makes the sharpest vinegar.
It is a bad horse indeed that will not carry his own provender.
There is much less art in playing, than in knowing when to leave off.
The higher the ape goes, the more he shows his tail.
The habit does not make the priest.
It is easy to take a man's part, but the matter is to maintain it.
Drunkenness is a pair of spectacles, to see the devil and all his works.
Of little meddling comes great ease.
Better go away longing than loathing.
If you make money your god, it will plague you like the devil.
Little boats must keep near shore; large vessels may venture more.
It is an ill wind that blows nobody good.
'Tis too late to spare when the bottom is bare.
Not the pain, but the cause, makes the martyr.
The sun is not less bright for shining on a dunghill.
A courtier's dependent is a beggar's dog.
Long is the arm of the needy.
One vice is more expensive than ten virtues.
One beats the bush, and another catches the bird.
Out of sight, out of mind.
Old foxes want no tutors.
A fool knows more in his own house than a wide man in another's.
A blow from a frying-pan blacks one, though it may not hurt.
Quick believers need broad shoulders.
An old naught will never be aught.
Every man bows to the bush he gets shelter from.
Go into the country to hear what news there is in town.
A runaway monk never praises his convent.
Better go about than fall into the ditch.
Every ass thinks himself worthy to stand with the King's horses.
He had need rise betimes that would please every body.
Need makes the old wife trot.
Nothing venture, nothing have.
Great pain and a little gain makes a man soon weary.
It's a foolish sheep that makes the wolf his confessor.
The morsel that one eats makes no friend.
He that loseth his due gets no thanks.
Sins and debts are always more than one takes them to be.
He that would make a door of gold, must drive in a nail every day.
That is gold which is worth gold.
Ready money is ready medicine.
He that hath the spice, may season as he please.
He that gains well, and spends well, needs no accompt-book.
A man's discontent is his worst evil.
Good is good, but better carries it.
Every one stretches his legs according to his coverlet.
Better spare of thine own, than ask of other men.
Gamesters and racers never last long.
Men get wealth, and women keep it.
He that speaks sows, and he that is silent gathers.
Once in a year a man may say - on my conscience.
He that comes of a hen must scrape.
An idle head is a box for the wind.
When a dog is drowning, every one offers him drink.
He that tells his wife news is but newly married.
He that riseth first is first dressed.
He that makes his bed ill, lies there.
In a hundred ells of contention there is not an inch of love.
He that hath a head of wax must not walk in the sun.
Prayers and provender never hinder a journey.
Play, women and wine, undo men laughing.
Physicians' faults are covered with earth, and rich men's with money.
The gown is his that wears it, and the world his that enjoys it.
The absent party is sure to be in fault.
He hath no leisure who useth it not.
He that will "consider of it" takes time to deny you handsomely.
The good mother says not "Will you?" but gives at once.
The merchant who gains not, loseth.
If a good man thrive, all thrive with him.
The buyer needs a hundred eyes, the seller but one.
Sleep without supping, and wake without owing.
The cost often spoils the relish.
Of a little thing, a little displeaseth.
The city for wealth, the country for health.
he that hath no ill fortune is troubled with good.
All is soon ready in an orderly house.
A skilful mechanic makes a good pilgrim.
Do not buy of a huckster, nor be neglient at an inn.
That sheep has his belly full which butts his companion.
Slander always leaves a slur.
That is well spoken that is well taken.
Welcome death, quoth the rat, when the trap fell down.
A merchant's happiness hangs upon chance, winds, and waves.
They need much whom nothing will content.
Three may keep counsel if two be away.
Apothecaries would not give pills in sugar unless they were bitter.
Give a child his will, and a whelp his fill, and neither will thrive.
Time is a file that wears and makes no noise.
Trade knows neither friends not kindred.
Good riding at two anchors, for if one break the other may hold.
Hide nothing from thy minister, thy physician, nor thy lawyer.
Trust nor a horse's heel, nor a dog's tooth.
Every shoe fits not every foot.
In the forehead and the eye, the lecture of the mind doth lie.
He that reckons without his host will have to reckon again.
Faint praise is disparagement.
Eternity has no gray hairs.
Counsel is to be given by the wise, the remedy by the rich.
A pleasure is well paid for that is long expected.
Do not spur a free horse.
Charity begins at home.
Vice is its own punishment, and sometimes its own cure.
Who thinks to deceive God, has already deceived himself.
Diseases are the interests of pleasures.
Call me cousin, cozen me not.
He who preaches up war, is a fit chaplain for the devil.
Where the heart is past hope, the face is past shame.
God makes, and the tailor shapes.
Fools should never see half-done work.
When a man's coat is threadbare, it is easy to pick a hole in it.
Put your finger in the fire, and say it was your fortune.
He that chastiseth one, amendeth many.
Great barkers are no biters.
A woman and a cherry are painted for their own harm.
A man may love his house well, and yet not ride on the ridge.
There's no joy without alloy.
Keep your purse and your mouth close.
He who has a bad wife has purgatory for a neighbour.
A friend that you buy wit presents will be bought from you.
Pride will have a fall.
Praise not the day till night comes.
When honour grew mercenary, money grew honourable.
If it were not for the belly, the back might wear gold.
Levity is the forced production of vice.
Misfortunes seldom come alone.
He who steals an old man's supper, does him a kindness.
Wine is a turncoat: first a friend, and then an enemy.
Sickness is felt, but health not at all.
To a full stomach all meat is bad.
Where the demand is a jest, the fittest answer is a scoff.
When bread is wanting, oaten cakes are excellent.
A man is a lion in his own cause.
A stumble may prevent a fall.
The sickness of the body may prove the health of the soul.
The most lasting monuments are monuments of paper.
New brooms sweep clean.
An old knave is no babe.
An irritable and passionate man is a downright drunkard.
An upright judge has more regard to justice than to men.
Glory brings more trouble than pleasure.
From fame to infamy is a beaten road.
Charity should begin at home, but not end there.
Between virtue and vice there is no middle path.
Covetous men are bad sleepers.
Angry men never want woe.
He who borrows on usury is the herald of his own beggary.
Beauty, like glass, is both brittle and irreparable.
Study wisdom, and you will reap pleasure.
The thinking mind resembles favours.
Malice is seldom without some mark to shout at.
Truth and falsehood may cleave, but they will not incorporate.
Many things lawful are not expedient.
One good head is better than several hands.
Genuine religion never produces an austere temper.
Peace and honour are the sheaves of virtue's harvest.
Judgment is the child of observation.
Live not to eat, but eat to live.
Envy is always lying in wait where virtue flourishes.
Envious men grow lean at the success of their neighbours.
Great events spring from little causes.
Ingratitude calls itself no man's debtor.
Double-dealing is a certain sign of a base spirit.
Delays are often more injurious than direct injustice.
One is not so soon healed as hurt.
No longer pipe, no longer dance.
Life loses its relish, and grows insipid, when liberty is gone.
Whatever is much read will be sure to be much criticised.
Misunderstanding brings lies to town.
Keep no more cats than will catch mice.
Fortune often makes a feast, and then takes away the appetite.
If misfortunes make us wise, they recompense us for our losses.
What the eye sees not, the heart rues not.
The longest life is but a parcel of moments.
There is nothing so bad as not to be good for something.
Masters are generally the greatest servants in the house.
He who teaches often learns himself.
Unkindness has no remedy at law.
The greatest King must at last go to bed with a shovel.
One half the world knows not how the other half lives.
Was it not for hope the heart would break.
Sly knavery is too hard for honest wisdom.
If you have too many irons in the fire, some of them will burn.
He that would eat the kernel must not complain of cracking the nut.
Wine and youth are fire upon fire.
Humility is the high road to honour.
Trouble not your head about the weather nor the government.
The less wit a man has, the less he knows he wants it.
Curse on accounts with relations.
An artful fellow is the devil in a doublet.
When the good cheer is lacking, false friends will be packing.
When all men say you are an ass, it is high time to bray.
Forecast is better than hard work.
Enough is a feast; too much a vanity.
A wise man gets learning from those who have none themselves.
When every one takes care of himself, care is taken of all.
Quick returns make rich merchants.
Lying rides on a debt's back.
A poor man's wisdom is like a palace in a wilderness.
Keep a thing seven years, and you will find a use for it.
All men think their enemies ill men.
A mittened cat never was a good mouser.
He had need rise betimes that would please everybody.
He that knows not when to be silent, knows not when to speak.
A King's favour is no inheritance.
Where reason rules, appetite greys.
The guilty man fears the law; the innocent man fears only fortune.
Antiquity cannot privilege error, nor novelty prejudice a truth.
War makes thieves, and peace hangs them.
The subject's love is the King's life-guard.
He who works in the market-place has many teachers.
A poor man has not many marks for fortune to shoot at.
False folk should have many witnesses.
Friendship cannot stand all on one side.
Ask enough, and you may lower the price as you list.
Fortune sometimes favours those she afterwards destroys.
Give a man luck, and throw him into the sea.
Haste makes waste, and waste makes want.
Get a name for rising early, and you may lie in bed all day.
He who follows his own advice must take the consequences.
He that hath no money needeth no purse.
If wishes would bide, beggars would ride.
Good harvests make men prodigal, bad ones provident.
He that hath feathered his nest may flee when he likes.
If it were not for hope, the heart would break.
Joking with hands are joking of blackguards.
He that would know what shall be, must consider what hath been.
He that waits for dead men's shoes may go a long time barefoot.
'Tis a base thing to rob a dead lion of his beard.
One thief makes a hundred suffer.
He commands enough that obeys a wise man.
He who serves a bad man sows in the market.
Pour not water on a drowned mouse.
The ass that carries wine drinks water.
There is nothing so like an honest man as an arrant knave.
Be sure you raise no more spirits than you can conjure down.
Winter discovers what summer conceals.
Wanton kittens may make sober old cats.
He who hunts two hares, leaves one and loses the other.
The more you stroke a cat's back, the higher she raises her tail.
That pilgrim is base who speaks ill of his staff.
Threatened folks live long.
Put off your armour, and then talk of your courage.
Say nothing of my debts unless you mean to pay them.
Amendment is repentance.
Give not a bribe, nor lose your right.
The burden which was thoughtlessly got must be patiently borne.
When the barn is full, you may thrash before the door.
Envy shoots at others and wounds herself.
Folly is never long pleased with itself.
Wolves may lose their teeth, but they never lose their nature.
Many sift night and day, and yet get nothing but bran.
He who has no shame has no conscience.
She is handsome that handsome doth.
A profitable religion never yet wanted proselytes.
Death hath nothing terrible in it but what life hath made so.
Truths, like roses, hath thorns about them.
Where honour ceases, knowledge decreases.
He dies like a beast who has done no good while he lived.
Life is half spent before we know its use and value.
Oppression will make a wise man mad.
As is the garden, such is the gardener.
The King goes as far as he can, but not so far as he would.
The best way to see divine light, is to put out thine own candle.
Take heed will surely speed.
As good do nothing, so to no purpose.
He cannot be very wise who will bray against another ass.
He who would catch fish must not mind getting wet.
It is hard for an empty bag to stand upright.
It is a poor art that maintains not the artisan.
Give a clown your finger, and he'll take your whole hand.
Crows are never the whiter for washing themselves.
Great actions encourage greater.
A sound faith is the best divinity.
He is wise, or will soon be so, who keeps wise company.
Virtue, like a rich stone, is ever best when plain set.
A good conscience is the best law.
Temperance is the best physic.
He that entertains a dangerous design puts his head into a halter.
The knot that is tied in treachery, will be loosed by jealousy.
Think to-day, and speak to-morrow.
Secrets are never long-lived.
Entertain no thoughts that you would blush at in words.
Fortune is like the market: if you can wait a little, the price will fall.
Say what is well, and do what is better.
An inquisitive fellow is a spy in disguise.
Worth is ever at home, and carries its own welcome along with it.
A smatterer in every thing is generally good for nothing.
Be not a figure among ciphers.
That man is rich, whose desires are poor.
Great talkers are like broken pitchers: every thing runs out of them.
Knowledge is the treasure of the mind, and discretion the key to it.
Keep a mean, and a mean will keep you.
Make not your sail too large for your ship.
Never seek for a friend in a palace, nor try him at a feast.
Love and respect are rarely found in lost fortunes.
One man's fault is another man's lesson.
A rich fool is a wise man's treasurer.
A wise man is like a spring lock, always more ready to shut than open.
He that tells all he knows will also tell what he does not know.
